Kennet Venture Partners Limited, ("Kennet"), the European technology venture capital firm, announces today that it has appointed Manish Mittal as Finance Director.
Manish has spent the last three years with Advent Venture Partners, most recently as Financial Controller, a position he had held since early 2001. Prior to this, Manish worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the audit department as an Assistant Manager.
Michael Elias, Managing Director at Kennet Venture Partners said: "We are delighted that Manish has joined the Kennet team. Manish brings significant, relevant experience of dealing with venture capital finance issues having worked within this area over the past three years."
Manish started as Finance Director at Kennet Venture Partners on 16 February 2004.
Kennet Venture Partners (www.kennet.com) is a leading European venture capital firm focused exclusively on the IT, communications and media industries. Kennet Venture Partners places a strong emphasis on investments in networking and communications technologies, semiconductor IP, Internet infrastructure and enterprise software. Kennet Venture Partners acts as an advisor to Kennet I LP, a Jersey limited partnership and to Kennet II LP, a Guernsey limited partnership. Kennet Venture Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Venture capital firm, Kennet Venture Partners Limited, has completed its first round of funding of £3 million in Exony Limited, a UK-based software company that designs integration and reporting products for use in complex contact centres.
Exony will use the capital to expand its current product portfolio by developing additional products that will improve customers’ ability to analyse, integrate and automate elements of complex, distributed contact centres.
Kennet has been working with Exony since August 2002 to help the company realise the potential of its planned new product stream and this investment reflects the success of that relationship. During this pre-investment stage, Kennet worked closely with Exony and its customers, such as Cable and Wireless, NTL and Kingston Communications, to develop and validate an extended product strategy.
Kennet also introduced Jonathan McKay as CEO of Exony. He was formerly vice-President and General Manager of Sun Microsystems Forte tools group, following the acquisition of Forte Software by Sun in 1999.
Exony’s current products include Intelligent Contact Gateway, which links telephony systems and business applications and Intelligent Contact Reporting. This is a contact centre reporting product that provides a consistent user interface to generate analysis and reports, enabling effective management of call centre operations.
The Exony product suite is currently offered within the Cable and Wireless, NTL and Kingston Communications network and provides advanced customer interaction services for many of its large corporate customers. Users of Exony software, include Marks & Spencer, Alliance and Leicester, Norwich Union, Nationwide, Nectar and thetrainline.com (Virgin Trains).
“This is a compelling opportunity to build a business that we know well from a profitable start point,” said David Carratt, managing director of Kennet. “Jonathan joins an excellent management team and will add a high degree of experience and credibility in this fast growing and exciting market.”
Jonathan McKay, CEO of Exony, added: “Kennet is certainly showing confidence in the future by investing in technology of this kind now and its support of Exony is a real endorsement of our offering. The investment will help us to complete our development programme, which in turn will allow us to extend our lead and deliver solutions that meet our ever-changing customer requirements.”
Kennet Venture Partners (www.kennet.com) is a leading European early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on the IT, communications and media industries. Kennet Venture Partners places a strong emphasis on investments in networking and communications technologies, semiconductor IP, Internet infrastructure and enterprise software. Kennet Venture Partners acts as manager of Kennet II LP, a Guernsey limited partnership and advisor to Kennet I LP, a Jersey limited partnership. Kennet Venture Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Monis Software, a financial analytics software business backed by Kennet Venture Partners, has been acquired by SunGard Trading and Risk Systems, an operating group of SunGard (NYSE:SDS). Kennet invested $2.7m in Monis in 1998 and was the company's primary financial backer.
Monis is an established leader in pricing models, analytic libraries and data services for convertible bonds, equity options, FX options, interest rate derivatives, credit derivatives and credit default swaps. Monis will operate as an operating unit of SunGard Trading and Risk Systems, led by Emanuel Mond, co-founder and current co-chairman of Monis. The new unit will incorporate SunGard's TrueCalc application for convertible bond pricing and analysis, in order to leverage the synergies between the Monis and TrueCalc applications.
Mr. Mond said of the acquisition, "Over the last two years, we set out on a course to rapidly transform Monis to provide new and enhanced solutions for our clients. We created a new front-office system, released the latest and most comprehensive spreadsheet based application, and enhanced our data services. While we continued to grow as a company over this period, we believe that it is now necessary to partner with an industry leader like SunGard to capture valuable synergies and strengthen our resource base. Our complementary strengths with SunGard will enable us to deliver innovative solutions to our clients and prospects."
Jim Ashton, chief executive officer of SunGard Trading and Risk Systems, said, "With over 350 customers worldwide, mainly blue-chip companies, Monis is a reputable leader in providing pricing models and data services to financial institutions. SunGard offers Monis clients the resources and security of an established, reliable vendor partner. Pursuant to our strategy to bring best practice risk management to the buy side, Monis' client base, which includes a large number of hedge funds, will help us to more effectively support the evolving needs of that market."
Michael Elias, managing director of Kennet Venture Partners, was a member of the board of directors of Monis from 1998 until the acquisition by SunGard. He said, "The acquisition of Monis by a global leader such as SunGard is a testament to the quality of its products, its team, and the company's strong market position. Founders and co-chairmen Emanuel Mond and Brent Isaacs have done a terrific job building this business and I am certain that within SunGard, the company will continue to prosper."
Kennet Venture Partners (www.kennet.com) is a leading European early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on the IT, communications and media industries. Kennet Venture Partners places a strong emphasis on investments in networking and communications technologies, semiconductor IP, Internet infrastructure and enterprise software. Kennet Venture Partners acts as manager of Kennet II LP, a Guernsey limited partnership and advisor to Kennet I LP, a Jersey limited partnership. Kennet Venture Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
July 24, 2002
Kennet Venture Partners Ltd announced today that it has participated in a follow-on funding round of £7.2m for Volantis Systems Ltd (Volantis), a leading provider of multi-channel software solutions that allow organisations to cost-effectively deploy web-applications across multiple devices. The funding was led by Accel Partners and, in addition to Kennet, included existing shareholders. Volantis has previously been funded by Kennet Venture Partners and Softbank. Kaj-Erik Relander will join the Board of Volantis Systems as a result of the Accel investment.
Volantis' flagship product, "Mariner," supports the deployment of multi-channel applications via one, central Web application, eliminating the need to tailor separate content for each device. The strategic value of Volantis' technology is evidenced by recently signed contracts with mobile leaders Hutchison 3G (recently re-branded as 3) and Telefónica Móviles.
David Carratt, managing director of Kennet Venture Partners said, "Volantis has made exceptional progress over the past two years since Kennet's first investment. The acceptance of its main product by industry leaders in the wireless operator market and the compelling logic of developing a multi-device solution continue to convince us of Volantis' value proposition. Clearly, as businesses 'extend the enterprise' to mobile devices, Volantis Systems' multi-device enabling solutions will be in great demand."
Responding to the needs of companies looking to reach customers over the growing number of connected devices and networks (mobile handsets, PDAs, iTV, etc), Volantis' Mariner software intelligently targets, personalises and optimises the presentation and behaviour of web applications according to the device being used to access it. The technology eliminates the need for organisations to continuously invest in their web strategies as new devices are introduced onto the market.
Terry Davies, CEO of Volantis, commented: "Like any fundamental shift in technology, multi-channel web infrastructures represent both an opportunity and a risk to business. An opportunity because it provides businesses, such as banks, enterprises and other service providers, with a means of extending customer reach and allowing customers to chose how they interact with a service, and a risk because of the potential costs required to support these new channels and devices. Volantis Mariner has removed this layer of complexity by offering a capability to support new devices as they are released, delivering tailored content from one central web application." said Kaj-Erik Relander, a general partner at Accel Partners, "Seamless delivery of content and applications in a wireless, multi-channel environment is becoming an increasingly important issue for wireless carriers and enterprises alike. Volantis' breadth and depth of technology, combined with a demonstrated delivery capability, leaves them uniquely placed to lead the market in this area."
Kennet Venture Partners is a leading European early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on the IT, communications and media industries. Kennet Venture Partners places a strong emphasis on investments in networking and communications technologies, semiconductor IP, Internet infrastructure and enterprise software. Kennet Venture Partners acts as manager of Kennet II LP, a Guernsey limited partnership and advisor to Kennet I LP, a Jersey limited partnership. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Volantis develops enterprise and carrier class infrastructure software for the Pervasive Internet. With Volantis, enterprises and telcos can increase their speed to market by rapidly delivering support for wireless and broadband devices, and future-proof their investment in interactive application development by dynamically adapting to new technologies in the market.
March 6, 2002 — The Board of Clearswift Corporation, the secure content management company, is delighted to announce that its acquisition of Content Technologies from Baltimore Technologies plc was today approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting in London.
The acquisition has created a British company that will be the world's number one company by market share for managing email and web secure content. Following the acquisition, Clearswift will:
The total consideration of £20.5 million comprises £12m in cash, £2.5m in Clearswift 5% loan notes maturing in 12 months and £6m in preference shares in Clearswift representing 11% of the enlarged company. To fund the acquisition and provide additional working capital requirements to expand and develop the enlarged business, Clearswift has secured £22m of new funding from a consortium of venture capitalists - Kennet Capital, Cazenove Private Equity and Amadeus Capital Partners.
Clearswift will take over Content Technologies' MIMEsweeper products, the world's leading family of Web, Email and Intranet content security solutions. These alongside Clearswift's award-winning Enterprise Email Management solutions will command more than 11,000 customers and more than 10 million users worldwide.
Commenting on the acquisition, Don Taylor, Chief Executive of Clearswift, said: "We are delighted that our offer has been accepted. During the last six weeks we have made significant progress in our plans to integrate both organisations' people, products and processes. We are confident that Content management and employees alike will welcome their secure new future under the Clearswift banner and that together we can work to strengthen our leading position worldwide."
The two companies are complementary in business, management, geography and sales channels. Clearswift will accelerate its product development as a result of the acquisition and be able to offer existing customers increased support and services going forward as well as maintaining its joint track record of market leading products.
Clearswift Corporation is a provider of award-winning Enterprise Email Management solutions. Clearswift provides organisations worldwide with highly scalable tools for content filtering, messaging policy enforcement and email security. Clearswift ES (Enterprise Suite) is a portfolio of products for larger enterprises, government organisations and service providers. MailGuard is a streamlined product for small and medium sized enterprises. Mistakes and malice using email can lead to high-profile security breaches, expensive lawsuits and damaged reputations. Clearswift products can combat the abuse of the email communications channel, in turn offering protection and peace of mind.
The company is headquartered in Ruscombe, Berkshire, with a Software Laboratory in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK. US headquarters are in Waltham, Massachusetts. Clearswift traded as NET-TEL from 1982 to June 2001. More information about Clearswift, its products and services is available at www.clearswift.com.
Content Technologies' MIMEsweeper products are the world's leading family of Web, Email and Intranet content security solutions. More than 10,000 customers and 10 million users globally use the award winning MIMEsweeper solutions to protect their networks and business form email and Web-based threats. These threats include the circulation of inappropriate images and text, Spam and oversize files that can cause degradation in network service, loss and corruption of data, breaches of confidentiality, as well as viruses and malicious code. For more information on Content Technologies, see www.mimesweeper.com.
January, 24, 2002
A syndicate of venture capital funds, led by Kennet Capital and Cazenove Private Equity, has agreed to fund the acquisition of the Content Technologies business from Baltimore Technologies plc. The purchase will be made by Clearswift, a private UK-based company backed by venture firm Amadeus Capital Partners, who is also participating in the investment. Jointly the syndicate, which also includes Bank of America Equity Partners, has agreed to invest £22 million in Clearswift in order to build the world's leading policy-based content security software company. The acquisition of Content Technologies has been agreed for a consideration to Baltimore of £12 million in cash plus £8.5 million in loan notes and shares.
The merged Clearswift and Content Technologies will have a customer base of over 11,000 companies and will be in the vanguard of the rapidly growing market for content policy management software, according to IDC the fastest-growing segment of the content security software market. Operating under the Clearswift name, the company will be run by an exceptionally experienced management team, which has been recruited out of the industry by Clearswift CEO Don Taylor, former vice president at Tumbleweed Communications.
Commenting on the investment, Tod Bensen of Cazenove Private Equity said, "We have known Content Technologies since well before it was bought by Baltimore and have long been convinced of the opportunity represented by content security. Similarly we have been monitoring Clearswift since Amadeus made its original investment. The combined company will have the management, technology and scale to lead in its sector and respond to the strong demand each company has been seeing for its products."
Content security software provides more effective perimeter protection against email- and Web-based network threats than anti-virus solutions alone. More important, it also ensures protection from legal liability due to inappropriate use of email or the Web, prevents leakage of sensitive corporate information, and limits loss of employee productivity.
"Content security has clearly risen to the top of the corporate agenda. It's no longer just about anti-virus protection, but about applying comprehensive policies to use of email communications and the Internet," said David Carratt, managing director of Kennet Capital, "This divestiture is clearly indicative of the type of deal opportunities that exist for technology investors in today's market environment."
CEO Don Taylor was attracted into Clearswift in early 2001 by Amadeus Capital Partners, who provided the initial funding to pursue this market opportunity. Amadeus' Richard Anton, who joined the board of Clearswift, soon identified the natural fit with Content Technologies and took the lead in pulling together an investment syndicate to fund the acquisition. He said, "Clearswift has achieved all its targets since our first investment and is a company with outstanding management and technology. This merger with a similarly high calibre company brings exceptional synergies for future growth in a worldwide market."
Content Technologies' MIMEsweeper product is the world's most recognised brand in advanced email filtering and scanning. Don Taylor, who will run the combined company, said, "We are putting these companies together because they have complementary products, channels, geographic presence and management. Combined under the Clearswift banner, we are well-positioned to exploit our leadership position in this high-growth market."
In addition to the syndicate's investment, Baltimore Technologies has agreed to retain a substantial stake in the combined business. For Bijan Khezri, CEO of Baltimore, the rationale is clear: "We believe this merger creates a world-class company, and we want both our shareholders and Content Technologies' employees to benefit from the value created by this transaction."
Kennet Capital and Cazenove Private Equity will appoint non-executive directors to the Clearswift board. Content Technologies' founder, David Guyatt, who is investing personally in Clearswift, has also agreed to join the board.
Together the companies will be able to exploit numerous product and commercial synergies. The company will have best-of-breed email filtering products for NT, Unix and Linux platforms. Clearswift will be able to provide Content Technologies' customers with advanced policy management options and the ability to manage distributed policy management servers. Both companies see new communications channels such as Instant Messaging and SMS as opportunities for the future. The companies will pool R&D resources and share existing libraries of software code to accelerate the development of new functionality and products.
Cazenove Private Equity (CPE) is a division of Cazenove Group plc, a leading independent investment bank. CPE was established in April 2000 with the objective of producing superior returns for its investors. Its first fund, the Cazenove New Europe Access Fund (CNEAF), raised £234 million from a combination of leading European institutional investors and Cazenove itself. CNEAF invests in unquoted companies in the UK and continental Europe in the technology, media, telecommunications and Internet sectors. The focus is on second and third round pre-IPO financings and the fund seeks to be a partner of choice for both leading European technology companies and their early stage investors.
www.cazenove.com
Kennet Capital is the early-stage venture capital firm of Broadview, a leading global M&A advisor and private equity investor focused exclusively on the IT, communications and media industries. With $275 million under management, Kennet Capital places a strong emphasis on companies in networking and communications technologies, semiconductor IP, Internet infrastructure and enterprise software. Kennet Capital Limited seeks to leverage the collective intellectual capital of the entire Broadview organization to the benefit of portfolio companies.
www.kennet.com
Amadeus is a specialist venture capital firm backing new technologies. Founded in 1997, the firm manages £285 million and has backed 37 companies in the UK and continental Europe, covering computer hardware and software, mobile and fixed communications technologies and new media. Amadeus has established a reputation among entrepreneurs for silicon valley-style, hands on assistance and 'door opening', and among investors for proving that early stage technology investing can be profitable in the long term.
www.amadeuscapital.com
Clearswift, based in Reading, UK, attracted first round funding led by
Amadeus last year. The company's products include Clearswift ES, an enterprise platform for managing email filtering and Web access policies in complex organisations, including large corporate and government departments. In addition, Clearswift markets MailGuard, an award winning email security product for small and medium enterprises. With Amadeus' help last year, Clearswift attracted Andy De Mari, a serial entrepreneur who founded the NASDAQ quoted company ISOCOR, as non-executive Chairman, and Don Taylor, who had previously run the international operations of Tumbleweed Communications, as CEO.
www.clearswift.com
Content Technologies, which was acquired by Baltimore in 2000, launched their MIMEsweeper solution in 1995. Today the company's product set includes MAILsweeper for SMTP, SECRETsweeper, MAILsweeper for Microsoft Exchange, WEBsweeper, MIMEsweeper for Domino and e-Sweeper. MIMEsweeper is the world's leading family of e-mail, web, and intranet content security solutions used by over 10 million people to protect their networks and business from e-mail and web-based threats that include the circulation of inappropriate images and text, spam and oversize files that can cause degradation in network service, loss and corruption of data, breaches of confidentiality, as well as viruses, 'worms' and malicious downloadable code.
Baltimore Technologies offers a wide variety of PKI products and services, access control and authorization management solutions, wireless e-security solutions, cryptographic toolkits, content security products, security applications, and hardware cryptographic devices. In addition, our global professional services organization offers consulting, training, and deployment support for customers worldwide.